Updates On P5+1-Iran Deal: Obama Pours Cold Water On His Own Deal To Placate Israel, Saudi Arabia Wants In On Diplomatic Poker Game, Western Diplomats Are Confident That Tentative Deal Will Stick

President Barack Obama said Saturday he believed the chances for a
comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran are 50-50 or worse, yet
defended diplomacy as the best way to prevent Tehran from acquiring
atomic weapons.

During a question-and-answer session with a pro-Israel audience, Obama
said he wasn't naive about the odds for a successful final agreement
between world powers and Iran next year, building on the recent
six-month interim deal.

"If you ask me what is the likelihood that we're able to arrive at the
end state ... I wouldn't say that it's more than 50-50," Obama said.
"But we have to try."

The president's remark was somewhat startling. Obama has tried to allay
the fears of many Israelis and some Americans that his administration
last month promised to ease economic pressure too much in return for too
few Iranian concessions.

Where is this negative talk coming from so soon after this deal was done? Is Obama afraid of defending his own accomplishment? Really? You're so scared of Israel's reaction to the deal that you're willing to shit on your own success? That's retarded. Obama, defend your own deal. There is no reason to fear or be pessimistic about making peace. Israel is not a giant with an axe.

Gulf Cooperation Council states must be part of the negotiations between major world powers and Iran, oil-rich Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief said on Sunday. Iran and major powers broke through a decade of gridlock on November 24 to agree an interim deal that would freeze parts of Iran's controversial nuclear programme while easing some of the crippling international sanctions against it.

"I suggest that the negotiations on Iran not be limited to the P5+1" comprising the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany, Prince Turki al-Faisal said.

"The Gulf Cooperation Council must be involved," added the influential Saudi royal, who also served as ambassador in both the United States and Britain.

"Iran is in the Gulf and any military effort will affect us all, let alone the environmental impact" Tehran's uranium enrichment programme could have on the region, he said at the Manama Dialogue, a forum on Middle East security.

Newsflash GCC: you are a slave of America and Israel, so you are already well represented by the P5+1 crew. You're presence at the table is not needed. There are already too many chairs to count. Just continue pumping that oil and repeat the propaganda you're masters write for you.

Western diplomats expressed confidence about Iran sticking to the
terms of an interim nuclear accord signed in Geneva last month as they
met to discuss implementing the agreement and the process going forward
for negotiating an end state deal.

The diplomatic consultations come ahead of a technical meeting
between diplomats from Iran and six world powers in Vienna next week
that will focus on implementing the November 24thaccord.

“I think it will hold, because it’s in Iran’s interest for it to hold,” Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told the PBS News Hour Wednesday (Dec. 4).
“Iran is looking for some economic relief. There’s very little in this
agreement, but it is the first step to a comprehensive agreement which
will give them the economic relief they are looking for.”

“We are discussing 6 or 7 parameters that have to be crystallized
into the common position of the P5+1,” a senior western official,
speaking not for attribution, said Thursday, of the diplomatic
consultations among the six world powers. The current priority is
“implementation of the Nov. 24 agreement and deciding on a process.”

In terms of implementing the Phase 1 deal, “there are obvious facts
to be confirmed by the [International Atomic Energy Agency] IAEA –
stopping 20 percent, converting half the stockpile… enhanced
monitoring,” the senior western official said.